When Tomorrow Become Yesterday
by Hedwig Edwiges
Summary: One shot. The final battle between Harry Potter and Lord “Thingy”. My first fanfic.


_**WHEN TOMORROW BECOME YESTERDAY**_

_**By Hedwig Edwiges**_

**Disclaimer:** As in a lot of fanfics I enjoyed read, this states that all belongs to J.K.Rowling and I just was lucky enough to borrow and play with it a little.

**Summary:** One shot. The final battle between Harry Potter and Lord _"Thingy". My first fanfic._

**Author's Notes:** The description of the connection of wands was adapted from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". This story was written before the publishing of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and don't take in consideration the information from that book.

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Harry ran away from the school, knowing that his friends were behind him, as a number of Death Eaters. He stopped midway, between the building and the forest, his wand raised. His friends fawned out, creating a semi-circle line around Harry. The Death Eaters were divided, part inside and part outside the semi-circle. Harry felt the hairs in the back of his head stand up thanks to the ward field between him and the forest.

The Death Eaters positioned themselves to have at least two of their enemies in sight. They were ready to start howling spells and curses, waiting only a sign from the Dark Lord.

The Order members and the students held their ground, their faces grim but determined. They didn't exchange glances and, apparently, didn't look at Harry also. They focused on the Death Eaters.

Voldemort appeared between the Death Eaters and Harry. He pinned the young man with his red eyes and raised his wand. He knew they couldn't duel. He wanted to be the first to shout his curse and be done with it.

Before Voldemort or the Death Eaters could say anything, a big explosion surrounded them. The dust hovered around all, creating a very effective visual barrier. Harry heard the disgusted and snotty sound made by Voldemort. The Dark Lord's shadow moved between the dust, approaching him. The young man dived to the ground and rolled to escape a curse from the dark wizard.

A second explosion shook the ground, throwing the Death Eaters down. The students and members of the Order trembled but the majority was able to keep their balance.

The land where Harry and Voldemort was continued to shake after the explosion and then sunk into the ground. Voldemort lost his footing, falling backwards. Harry was already on the floor, so he was able to ride the fall easily. Their piece of land touched down in the bottom of what appeared to be a huge cave. Neither Harry nor Voldemort took the time to look around. They were both on their feet within seconds of each other and before the ground under their feet stop shaking.

"_CRUCIO!"_

"_EXPELLIARMUS!"_

The incantations were shouted at the same time and the lights of the spells found each other in midair, between the dust, locking the brother wands together.

"NO!" Voldemort cried, while trying to pull his wand out of the magic standoff.

Harry held tighter to his own wand, concentrating in keeping the connection.

Both wizards were lifted in the air, exactly like the first time their wands met. The shimmering golden light connecting Harry and Voldemort didn't take long to splint in a thousand more beams, arced high over Harry and Voldemort, crisscrossing all around them, until they were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light.

All the sounds of the battle that continued above their heads were muffled by the golden web and the beautiful and unearthly phoenix song emanating from it. Harry took a deep breath, renewing his hold in his wand, feeling stronger and more focused thanks to the music.

The wands began to vibrate more powerfully and the battle to push the telltale regurgitating spell to the other started between the wizards.

Harry held his wand with both hands, not wanting to see the large beads of light sliding up to his side. The sweat ran by his face and he used the tip of his wand as focus to his will and mind in this battle.

Voldemort's hand was shaking badly, his white fingers paler yet with the effort to fight the same outcome of three years past. His red eyes were brighter and a crazy look was more visibly than a malign one.

Once again Harry was able to tip the scale and push the beads of light into Voldemort's wand.

"NO!" The Dark Lord cried again. He tried once more to pull out from the connection but it was too late, his wand had already swallowed the first bead and the spell's echoes were starting to flow out of the tip of it.

Harry wasn't looking directly to Voldemort, or even paying attention to the echoes pulling out of the Dark Lord's wand. In truth, he looked lost in thought, his eyes unfocused and a bit dreamy. Only the crease in his forehead spoke of intense concentration.

"_Time for the last chapter,"_ Harry thought, a bit absent-minded.

While Voldemort fought against the powerful vibration and the fearful sensation that his wand would splint under the pressure and his fingers would burn from the unseen fire, Harry reassured himself of his grip in his own wand and let his mind turn inward. He opened up his mental connection with Voldemort. The pain was immediately present: the anger, the fear and the hate from the Dark Lord flow to Harry's mind with the force of a blow. The young man staggered a bit, but then took deep breaths, tightening even more his grip to his wand, concentrating harder into the connection.

Feeling in control again, Harry used his experience in fighting Dementors to gather from deep inside himself all the good memories and good feelings he could pull together and throw them back to Voldemort's mind.

"_Meeting Ron the Hogwarts Express. Beating the Troll to safe Hermione. Every time he caught the snitch. The Quidditch Cup won in his third year. Finding out Sirius was innocent. All his friends. His adopted family, the Weasleys."_

Harry had carefully planned and prepared for this. But he still faltered when Voldemort's mind respond to the images and feelings he sent. The Dark Lord's answer invaded Harry's mind like one of his Uncle Vernon's drills and the young man trembled all over.

"_The pain at the orphanage. Be ignored by the rich and popular students. The pleasure to fill power. The power to feel the fear from others. The pleasure of revenge. The sweet taste of infinite power and immortality"._

The grayish figures were pacing around Voldemort, making him jumpy and nervous. He lost a bit of his mind control, giving Harry the moment he needed to breathe and re-gathered his memories and feelings together. The young wizard launched another attack towards the dark wizard, ignoring the echoes prowling between them.

"_Suffering at the Dursleys. The happiness when he found out about being a wizard. Meeting Hagrid. The worthless feeling dragged out by Snape's remarks. The exhilarating feeling to fly and play Quidditch. The fear to be the Slytherin Heir. The warm love of the Weasley family when Ginny was safe. The hate when he thought Sirius betrayed his parents. The happiness when he found out Sirius was innocent and he might go live with him. The fear during his meetings with Dementors. His anger toward Umbridge. His mixed feelings about witness Mr. Weasley's attack and save his life. The feeling of proud of the DA results in the O.W.L.S."_

Harry mixed good and bad memories to chattered Voldemort's attitude of victim. He wasn't the only one to feel lonely, to be mistreated or to believe he was treated unjustly. And those feelings shouldn't give him the right to go on trying to conquer the world.

Voldemort was still trying to pull his wand out of the connection but the echoes around him kept distracting and scaring him. There was a considerate number now and the golden web start to be a bit crowded.

Harry was getting tired fast. The force he had to apply to hold the wand plus the effort to concentrate in his connection with Voldemort and fighting against the pain in his scar were wearing his resistance. His hands were trembling and he was absolutely drenched in sweat. With his strength at end, Harry spared a moment to look around; taking the number of grayish shadows inside the golden web and heard the screams of agony coming from Voldemort's wand. The proofs of the Dark Lord's crimes only fueled Harry with determination to go through – to whatever end – with his plan.

Harry and Voldemort's mental connection was filled with Harry's feelings of compassion for all those who suffered at the hands of the Dark Lord. And an understanding – even a personal wish – to find peace in death.

The cry of agony from Voldemort reached Harry at the same time he found the echoes of his mother and father in the middle of the crowd pacing inside the golden web. The couple stopped in front of the young man and Harry let tears of regret, sorrow, pain and love fell to be mixed with the sweat running by his face. The agony from Voldemort sounded once more in his brain.

"_Harry, find protection under Salazar Slytherin when the connection brakes. We will vanish quicker this time." _James Potter cautioned his son.

"_We love you, sweetheart. You are doing the right thing. We are very proud of you," _Lily threw a kiss to Harry.

"I love you too. Say hi to Sirius for me. We'll be together someday," Harry whispered to his parents, feeling through his scar the growing of the hatred and anger in Voldemort.

His parent's echoes turned to face the dark wizard and Harry used all his energy to yank his wand up, finally breaking the golden thread. This time Harry didn't run away. Even if he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings when they fell, he knew they would land inside the Chamber of Secrets. His father advice – to hide under Salazar Slytherin – meant that the giant stone head was behind him. So Harry took some steps backwards and entered the open mouth of the statue at the same time the echoes disappeared and an angry shout came from Voldemort.

"You can not win, Potter! You THINK you can DEFEAT ME USING SHADOWS! I AM LORD VOLDEMORT! The most powerful wizard this world has ever seen!" The dark wizard was shaking while shouting. He seemed to have passed permanently to the realm of madness.

"The greatest wizard of all is Dumbledore and his biggest quality is to recognize he's human and capable of error," Harry's voice was soft but full of certainty and echoed through the cave.

"Dumbledore is a fool! I will outlive you all!" Voldemort shouted again, moving in the direction of Harry's voice.

"Who wants to live forever? You would end up all alone," was the soft answer from Harry, echoing around the cave.

"I don't need anybody! I AM THE ONLY ONE IMPORTANT!" Came the snotty answer. Voldemort circulated the cave, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the younger wizard. "Hiding, boy? Where is your Gryffindor courage?" The tone sounded amazingly like the one Vernon Dursley used to taunt Harry.

"I'm courageous enough to be here, fighting you. And it's a Slytherin trait not to expose yourself to unnecessary danger. 'Use stealth and surprise your enemy'." Harry answered, stepping forward, wand raised, and before Voldemort could turn in his direction, he uttered: "_Recolligo Presul_."

A blue light jumped from his wand and Voldemort reacted immediately.

"_PROTEGO!"_

But there wasn't any clash of light or connection of the wands. The blue light from Harry's wand seemed to engulf the spell from Voldemort and continue to grow. The two wizards watched as the bubble of blue light expand to engulf the entire cave where they were. Voldemort hesitated, not knowing the incantation or what the bubble would do. With a malign glance toward Harry, the Dark Lord turned to the wall of the cave and shouted:

"_REDUCTO!"_

The stone exploded in small pieces, feeling the place with dust once again.

"Ah, Harry, a useless spell? The little boy was trying to play with magic and didn't work? You should have tested it in one of your friends; or better yet, in one of your enemies, if we are talking about Slytherin traits; before bring it to battle." He smirked. "Seems to me that you spent too much energy to create this beautiful and big and USELESS bubble!"

Voldemort returned the aim of his wand toward Harry.

"I tested it, Tom, WITH my friends. And the spell works just fine. It does exactly what it supposes to. Your problem, Tom, is your incapacity to see beyond your own believes. There is MORE out there than your little red eyes see, Tom."

It was uncanny how Harry was able to reproduce the same tone and pattern that Dumbledore always used to talk to Voldemort, using his given name. A bit paternalist, a bit disappointed, as if talking to a stubborn and pampered five years old.

The results were immediate. Voldemort became even more irritated, his anger shooting through Harry's scar. The young man gasped, but rode the wave of pain, never loosing his grip or focus on his wand.

"Boy, you have irked me for the last time!" Again the Dark Lord sounded amazingly like Uncle Vernon. That helped, making Harry smile sideways with the image of his beefy uncle merging with the snake-like figure of Lord Voldemort. Again, the happy feeling coming from Harry only fueled the awful mood of the Dark Lord.

It had finally come. Tomorrow became yesterday.

He had spent the last two years of his life worrying about tomorrow. Always trying to think ahead, trying to prepare for what surely would come his way. Since the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts. Since the talk with Dumbledore in his office, after the battle in the Ministry, after Sirius was lost...

After he fully understood the meaning of the prophecy, he began to prepare. First he was just angry. Angry at the unfairness of all. Why him? How could he do that? But after some time thinking about it, after enough time to consider everything, he finally understood. He finally found out the _power the Dark Lord knows not_...

It was a hard road. Nothing came easily to him. Not even knowledge. He had to fight his fears, his nightmares, and his angry feelings, to find the answer. To find the way to fulfill the prophecy.

And he was able to find the way - the power – to go on with his destiny, with his foretold future. He found what he needed within his friends, his adopted family, and his teachers; in truth, within the entire Wizarding world, who believed in him, whom expected him to win this ultimate battle. It was their belief, their trust, _their love_ that empowered him to be the hero everybody wanted him to be.

For all his cunning and knowledge though, Lord Voldemort biggest flaw was to underestimates his enemies and even his followers. He never could make himself believe that there was something in any of them he couldn't understand. In his followers he saw greed, fear, power, and personal interests and explored them as much as possible or until they were needed to achieve his own goals. All and any were dispensable. In his enemies he recognized wisdom, knowledge and the noble sentiments he so utterly despised. But he only saw flaws, the cracks in the wall that these sentiments caused and permitted him to access and destroy who or what ever he wanted.

But by leaving the faults and mistakes in the shoulders of others, Voldemort forgot the greatest lesson of warfare strategy - the greatest lesson even for life – that was to recognize the strengths and weakness of his enemies, his allies and himself alike. To dismiss the possibility of failure was the closest step to defeat.

And for all Voldemort learnt from his previous encounters with Harry Potter and Dumbledore, the possibility of defeat because of what he believed to be weakness in others never crossed his mind.

Harry, on the other hand, took a long time to understand where his strength to defeat Voldemort lay. But the conversation the young wizard had with Dumbledore prior his seventh year finally resumed all and sunk in the young man's mind.

"_You're more than the sum of the parts. You have the courage and the talent for leadership of you father. And you've the kindness and the empathy of your mother. The daring and impatience of your godfather. You are also hurt and a bit hardened by your life, like Severus Snape was by his. You have a bright and eager mind, as any young wizard; but you also have experience with the darkest situations and you've survived more than most adult wizards. And the word that defines you, after all, is _**MORE**_. You're more than anyone would have expected or dream of. Maybe this isn't fair, but you established the standards. Every time you surpass expectations, you give everyone reason to hope for even more from you."_

Harry knew he was the one the face Voldemort but he learnt he needed all his friends and allies to help him to get in that place. So he plotted a strategy so he could be alone with Voldemort.

Finally, tomorrow had come. All he feared, all he wanted, all that had to be, was finally here.

And he survived it. And the feared tomorrow become yesterday.

The End

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A/N 2: The use of Latin, if not from canon, was achieved through online dictionaries of Latin/English.

_Recolligo-_gather, flock together ; _Presul_ - protector


End file.
